Always There
by sammiD26
Summary: What if Katniss was never chosen for the games? Katniss struggles with life in district twelve while beginning to realize her feelings for her best friend. AU, No Games, Galeniss
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this is my first fan fiction ever, so I'm not the most experienced writer. I have been reading fan fictions for a while, and I was really drawn to the Hunger Games. I'm definitely team Gale, but it's hard to find a good galeniss fan fiction. There was one that I liked, but the author stopped writing. So this is basically, the fan fiction that I have been unable to find. I hope you enjoy. Please review to let me know how I'm doing. I'm open to suggestions, so anything you want to see in the story, just let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thanks.**

**Chapter 1**

I awaken just as the sun is making its appearance. I get up at this time practically every morning though, so by now my body won't let me sleep past dawn. I don't really mind though. In fact, dawn is probably my favorite time of day. Everyone is asleep and momentarily distracted from the constant unease that comes along with life in the Seam. It's as if for just a moment you can forget, but even this is short lived. It's reaping day.

My current situation of being the sole provider for my family even when I'm still a child myself is not uncommon here. I'm 16 years old. I took on the responsibility of my family when I was only 12 after my father was killed in a mining accident. It was rough at first, but luckily before he died, my father taught me how to hunt in the woods outlying the district. This is another reason that I enjoy early mornings. Hunting.

By now, I'm dressed in my hunting clothes and headed out of my house but not before grabbing some cheese that my sister, Prim, has left for me. Prim is 12 years old, so this is her first reaping. To say I am worried is an understatement. Every moment for the past two weeks has been filled with worry for my sister. She will only have one slip out of thousands, but that is way too much for me. To even think about my baby sister's name being pulled to participate in the nationally televised fight to the death called the Hunger Games is painful.

I'm startled out of my thoughts when I reach the fence. I listen for the hum to signify that the fence is turned on, but as always it's dead silent. Hunting is technically illegal and this fence is here to keep poachers out of the woods, but law enforcement is not the strictest here in District 12.

I reach the log where my bow is hidden, and see that Gale's bow is already gone. Gale is my best friend and hunting partner. Our fathers were both killed in the same mining accident, making us both as the eldest child the sole providers for our families. I remember when I first saw him in the woods.

_I had never seen anyone else in the woods before, let alone a boy my age. I knew his father was killed in the same accident as mine, so I assumed his purpose in the woods was the same as mine. At first I was angry that someone was taking away game that could have been mine. I decided to ignore him, and I guess he did too. We spent a week hunting, barely acknowledging each other's presence. During that time I noticed that he never had a weapon with him, so I found it strange when I would see him leave the woods with a belt of squirrels and rabbits. Sometimes when I was watching him, he would climb high tree or run fast or turn so that the kills on his belt were in my line of sight. One day, we both happened to be picking berries in the same clearing, keeping a safe thirty feet apart at all times. I suddenly felt a pair of eyes on me and I noticed that everything had gone silent. I turned towards the boy to see him looking right at me, or well past me. I followed his eyes to a doe grazing a shrub about twenty yards away. It was the first deer I saw since my father died. I had never taken one down by myself before. I turned back to the boy, and we locked eyes. He nodded his head towards the doe, and I nodded back at him. I then strung my bow and aimed. When I hit my target, it started to run off by it didn't get far before it collapsed. The boy slit its throat, and we both stood there staring at the dead animal._

"_Nice shot" the boy breathed._

"_Thank you" I said, turning to face him. "I'm Katniss."_

"_Gale," he returned._

"_That's a lot of meat." I said._

"_I know."_

_We both looked at each other and then burst out laughing. Once we calmed down, we decided to share the deer, so we each grabbed an end and headed back towards the fence. On the way, we talked about hunting and how rich we were going to be. I found out he used snares to hunt and like me learned it from his father. He seemed interested in my bow and especially interested in the spare bow I mentioned. Once we made it back under the fence where we headed to the Hob, a sort of marketplace. As soon as we entered carrying a seventy pound doe, the room collectively gasped. Gale smiled at me, and I found myself smiling back. In fact, I was smiling for the rest of the day. After making fifteen coins each, Gale walked me home._

"_I had fun today." He said._

"_Me too." _

"_See you tomorrow?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Goodnight Katniss."_

"_Goodnight Gale."_

From then on, we were partners. We met up every morning, and would leave together every night. I ended up giving Gale my spare bow, but he taught me some basic snares in return. We would split all the kills at the end of the day. Within a month, he was my best friend.

I feel comfortable around Gale, like I can truly be myself. Around him I am Katniss, not the provider or the girl whose dad died or even the hunter girl. Gale is two years older than I am, so rumors quickly spread about us dating and doing more than hunting in the woods. There's never been anything romantic between us. We're friends, that's all. Besides, Gale would never like someone like me. I'm more of the loner type who sticks to herself because she is too busy and has more important things to do like keeping her family alive. I'm not really into all the things the other girls my age are, I don't really care what I look like. I wear my hair in the same single braid every day without any makeup because it is way too expensive and I wouldn't know the first thing to do with it anyways. Gale, on the other hand, is one of the more popular boys in school. I hear how the girls at school talk about him, and from what they have said, Gale has reciprocated. He has a few close friends, Thom, Brandt, and Shane, but other than that he keeps to himself, or as far as I know. We don't see each other at school often except on the walk to and from school. When he walks me home, some of the girls will glare at me. It doesn't really bother me because Gale isn't my boyfriend. To me, Gale is my best friend, the boy I met in the woods, my hunting partner. And now, when I see him sitting at our spot, waiting for me, I can't imagine him not being in my life.

"Hey Katniss."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again. Thank you to everyone who has read my story so far. Please review if you have any suggestions or questions. I made this chapter a little lighter because there is drama to come. I hope I didn't make Gale and Katniss too OOC. If you guys don't like it, I can try to make them more in character. Enjoy **

**Chapter 2**

"Hi Gale."

We sat on our rock in comfortable silence. I could see him out of the corner of my eye. He was stressed. He kept looking out to the vast forest and valley below, then he would look at me and then he would shake his head and put his face in hands and sigh. I didn't like seeing him like this. Before I could think about what I was doing I was grabbing his hand. His hand went stiff for a split second before he was gripping my hand in his. Even though, this could be considered an intimate gesture, it wasn't like that between us. I was just trying to comfort him because we have a lot of hunting to do before the reaping and ok maybe I don't want to spend my last possible morning with Gale in a good mood. I have been so focused on Prim; I hadn't even considered the possibility that Gale could be reaped. Finally realizing how eminent that possibility is, I gripped his hand tighter. He squeezed back. We sat in silence, hand in hand, for a few more minutes until I decided we should better get started.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

I untangled my hand from his and we started to hunt. After about three hours we had four rabbits, two squirrels, and six fish. This was enough for today, so we headed to the fence about two hours earlier than usual. We headed to the bakery because the Hob was closed due to all the Peacekeepers around. We reached the baker's backdoor and knocked. The front door swung open, revealing the bright blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair of the baker's youngest son, Peeta Mellark. Peeta is in my year at school, but we have never talked before. Well, except when he saved my life.

It was right after my father died. I was starving and sad and I had no idea how to survive on my own yet. I had not met Gale yet, and my mother was too busy sobbing in her bedroom to even think about the well-being of her daughters. I was so desperate, I had sunk so low as to go digging through the merchant's garbage. As I was opening the lid to the bakery's bin, I heard a women screeching at me.

"Get out of our trash! Filthy seam."

I looked up into the red faced, rolling pin wielding wife of the baker, but all I could focus on was the aroma of freshly baked bread engulfing my senses. The sight of the baker's wife descending from her porch, finally made me step back and walk away. I went and sat under a tree a few yards away. I looked back towards the bakery to see the baker's wife striking her youngest son. He was holding burnt rolls when she pushed him out in the rain, hollering at him to feed it to the pigs. He waited until she went back inside to approach me. He sloshed over to me and handed me the rolls. I was so shocked that I didn't respond.

"Here"

He placed the rolls in my lap and ran back into the bakery. I was speechless; too many things were rushing through my mind. Peeta Mellark, a boy I have never spoken to, just saved both the lives of me and my family for absolutely no reason. I felt guilty for receiving this undeserved gift and extremely grateful. The next day at school, I planned on thanking him, but I could never find a time to get him alone. I would notice him looking at me sometimes, only to look away when I would turn his way. To this day, I have never thanked him, but now that I'm face to face with him for the first time since that day, I cannot bring myself to thank him. He probably doesn't even remember. He looks shocked to see us standing there.

"Can I help you?" He says looking right at me.

"Uhh…um" I stutter.

"Is your father here?" Gale says slightly annoyed. I guess he is still stressed out.

"He's with a customer right now, but I'd be happy to help you."

"We have a couple of squirrels to trade if you're interested." Gale replies.

"Let's see them" he says still looking directly at me. I lift the bag off my shoulder and hold out the two squirrels to him. He reaches for them and his hand brushes mine as he grabs the squirrels. I quickly jerk my hand back while Peeta blushes.

"I'll be right back" He says now looking at the ground and disappears back into the bakery.

My heart is beating quickly and the spot where our hands brushed is burning. I'm still looking at the place where Peeta once stood when I feel someone grab my hand. I look at Gale. He is just looking straight ahead, not even acknowledging that I'm there. He looks angry, but I have no idea why. I know he is worried about the reaping, but I don't see what he's angry at, the capitol maybe. I'm still looking at Gale when Peeta returns with our payment. His eyes go straight to our interlocked hands. I'm suddenly incredibly embarrassed. Gale and I never hold hands, let alone in front of other people. Sure, I started it this morning, but that was in the privacy of our woods. Peeta quickly drops the coins into Gale's outstretched hand and tightly shuts the door. Then Gale is pulling me along down the road towards the seam. I roughly pull my hand out of his and continue walking.

"What's your problem?"

"What's my problem!? You're the one who has been quiet all day!"

"I know, I'm sorry. Just, I'm just stressed out. I want this day to be over."

"I know, I do too."

"Katniss she's going to be fine, she won't get picked."

"You don't know that"

"She's one out of thousands, it will be alright." I just nod in reply. We start walking again.

"Sorry I held your hand."

"…Uh, er it's fine."

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"I wasn't uncomfortable!"

"Okay"

"Gale! I wasn't"

"I said okay" He grinned.

"Ughh" I huff in frustration. He just grins in return. I'm so annoyed; I snatch his hand up in mine.

"See, completely comfortable"

"Yep"

"You're so annoying." He starts laughing. I start to pull away, but he tightens his grip on my hand and pulls me back. We're face to face now. My cheeks and hand are burning.

"Hold on Catnip. I'm just joking."

"Okay"

"Come on, don't tell me you're mad."

"I'm not mad. Just, let me go"

"If you're not mad, why can't I hold your hand?"

"You can, I just don't want my hand to be held right now."

"Ok" He looks down at our hands and drops mine. We walk in silence again until we are outside my house. It hits me again, hard. In an hour my sister can be a tribute.

"See you in the square" I choke out.

"Wear something pretty"

Gale pulls me into his arms and I don't hesitate to hug him back. He's probably the only other person who understands how I feel right now. His little brother, Rory. It's his first reaping too. I find comfort in Gale's arms. We stand like that, hugging, my head on his chest with his chin on my head, for who knows how long, but neither of us pulls away. I finally pull away, but Gale grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"Everything is going to be fine, Kat"

I nod and give him a weak smile, but we both know it's forced. I want to believe him, but I can't. I won't smile until the reaping is over, but Gale will always try anyways.

"Kat?...Kat?"

"Gale, you know I hate that nickname."

"Why? Does it make you uncomfortable? I can hear the smile in his voice, that when I look up at him I can't help but smile back.

"No, it does not. I'm just not a cat alright."

"Meow?" I'm giggling now. Gale smiles back at me. "There we go, much better."

"But, Gal-"

"No, buts. Now, I don't want to see you worry anymore because everything is going to be okay."

"Promise?"

"I promise" He holds out his pinky. I roll my eyes at him but lock his pinky with mine. He gives me small smile and then takes off down the road towards his house.

I watch until he's out of sight and then turn towards my house. My newfound courage falters for a brief second, but I quickly regain control. I repeat Gale's words in my mind. 'Everything is going to be okay.' And it will be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, sorry for the long wait, but here's a long one for you. I couldn't figure out which direction I wanted to go in, but I got it now. Please review if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. I'm all ears. Thank You Heslen for your review, I really appreciate it. I tried to be less repetitive in this chapter and yes any good Galeniss authors you know would be appreciated. Alright, so without further ado…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.**

**Chapter 3**

I'm scared as I stand in front of the full length mirror in my room. Today is one of the few days that I will wear a dress, but I'm not even thinking about how uncomfortable I am. I am thinking about how my whole life could change within the next hour. Not that I'm living the high life to begin with, but I'm happy. I couldn't bear to lose Prim or Gale, they mean too much to me.

"Oh Katniss, you look beautiful." Prim is standing in the doorway wearing my old reaping clothes.

"No Prim, you are beautiful."

"You both are beautiful." I look up at my mother. She's been doing that a lot lately. Trying to be a mother, trying to pretend like she didn't leave us. Prim may have been able to forgive her, but I haven't. Only for the sake of my father do I even speak to her.

"We should get going." I say. My mother nods and then we are all walking towards the square. My mother leaves to go stand with the other parents while Prim and I are waiting to check in. Prim's hand is sweaty in mine, or maybe that's my hand, but I refuse to let go. We are both checked in and it's time to go to our individual sections. Prim is shaking like a leaf.

"Prim, it's going to be fine. They're not going to pick you." I promise more to myself. She nods her head, but her lip quivers and her eyes are becoming watery. I pull her into a hug. "I have to go to my section now, but come find me as soon as it's over."

"I will"

I watch her until I see she's safely in the twelve year old section. Then I start walking towards my own section. I catch Madge Undersee's eyes as I approach. She's probably the closest thing I have to a friend besides Gale. She's in my year at school and keeps to herself, so whenever we have to partner up at school, we always end up together. Now, we sit together at lunch, but that's about as far as our friendship goes. As I wait for the reaping to begin, I can feel someone watching me. I turn to see Gale standing in the boy's section staring at my accusingly with his eyebrows raised. 'What?' I mouth to him. He holds up his pinky in reply. I give him a weak smile that he returns when I hear Effie Trinket clicking her way to the microphone in her high heels. I give Gale one last glance before facing forward.

"Welcome, welcome everyone to this year's reaping." Then she squeaks on to explain the selection process, adding in how exciting it is to be a tribute. I want to vomit, but I hold it in because she's saying, "Let's begin. Ladies first!" She crosses the stage to girl's ball. She plucks a slip off the top.

"Teresa Faherty."

I inwardly sigh, feeling slightly guilty when I see the fifteen year old making her way to the stage. She doesn't deserve this, no one does, but Prim is safe and that's all I care about. After Teresa shakily introduces herself, Effie is digging through the boy's bowl. Suddenly, my fists clench up and every ounce of breath is squeezed out of my body. I'm chanting in my head 'Please' over and over again.

"Noah Eldritch"

They're both safe, and I'm safe too for a whole year. A weight is lifted off my shoulders and I already feel better. My stomach that was in knots a second ago is now at ease. The mayor finishes reading the Treaty of Treason, and the tributes are led into the justice building. The crowd disperses as people find their loved ones. I look over to Prim's section, but she's not there. Then someone knocks into me and I stumble back. Prim has launched herself into my arms, and we both stand there hugging.

"We're safe." She says.

"I told you."

"Actually, I told you." I look over at Gale approaching with his little brother, Rory. Prim and I break apart and Gale pulls me in for a hug.

"Yeah, I guess you were right."

"Like always." He says with a devilish grin. We all suddenly burst out laughing and Rory is even getting teary eyed. Gale makes a pouting face which only makes us all laugh even harder. We continue laughing and teasing Gale as we make our way over to the Hawthorne house for supper.

I like having supper at the Hawthorne house. Their house is always so warm, the way a home should be. Nothing like our cold house, here everyone is in a good mood. Hazelle is making dinner with my mother while chatting. Prim, Rory and Vick are playing a board game. Gale and I are sitting on the couch where Posy has fallen asleep with her head in Gale's lap. I can't help but feel a little jealous of Gale, that this is what he comes home to everyday.

"What are you thinking about?" I look up at Gale. He is stretched out the length of the couch with his hands behind his head. Little Posy is fast asleep with her head on Gale's stomach. I can't help but notice how much Gale looks like a father in this moment. Like a father just back from the mines, exhausted, relaxing on the couch after supper with his daughter asleep in his lap. The only thing wrong is that Gale is too young. His shoulders aren't permanently hunched and his skin isn't tinted gray with coal dust. I hadn't really noticed before, but Gale looks very handsome today. His face has been washed and his hair is neatly combed. His blue dress shirt is unbuttoned revealing a white t shirt underneath. It's a little too small for him showing off the muscles in his chest.

"Katniss?"

"Hmm?"

"I asked you what you were thinking about." My cheeks go red when I realize what I was thinking about. I don't like Gale that way and he doesn't like me that way. We are just friends.

"Nothing. Just thinking." It's true, I was only thinking that he looks handsome; it doesn't mean I have some stupid crush on him.

"Come on everyone, it's time for dinner." I inwardly thank Hazelle for saving me from what was probably going to be an awkward conversation. We all get up to feast on rabbit stew. It's nice and once everyone has had enough to eat, we decide it's time to head home. Later that night, I try to keep my mind from wandering back to Gale and how his chest felt pressed up against mine when he hugged me goodbye.

You can always tell when summer has begun when you wake up in the morning sweating, but I welcome it. Summer is District 12's best time mostly because food is plentiful. Like always the week's leading up until we are let out of school are going undeniably slow. However, with each passing day I can anticipate freedom.

As I'm walking to school, I meet Gale near his house; we always walk to and from school together. I'm anxious as I approach him because of last night. I don't want to be more than friends with Gale, I like how things are now. Gale is acting completely normal though, so maybe things don't have to change. However, I can't help but notice the way he opens the door for me and winks at me when he leaves to go to his class. But Gale has always done those things, so what's different now. I'm confused so I just push those thoughts away and try to focus my teacher. That proves to be a mistake when I notice who is sitting next to me. Peeta Mellark. Great, another boy I'm confused about. The memories of yesterday are resurfacing, and my cheeks start to turn red. Peeta notices me looking at him.

"Oh, did you want to be partners?"

"Excuse me?"

"Uh, for the project the teacher just told us about?"

I wasn't even listening to the teacher, but I don't care about that. This could be my chance, to thank Peeta for saving my life.

"Oh, yeah. Let's be partners."

"Ok" Peeta says with a small smile.

We start working on the project and I realize that Peeta is not so bad, for a merchant kid. We finish before most of the other kids, and now we sit in awkward silence. This is it, I think.

"Peeta?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you" He looks confused.

"For what?

"Uh, for giving me the bread, you know, when we were kids." He still looks confused.

"That. Oh, yeah no problem. But really it was no big deal, you don't have to thank me."

The bell rings signaling that class is over. We both stand up and start walking out of the school.

"Well, you saved me and my family that day, so thank you."

"You're welcome. It was no problem." I see Gale talking with Brandt when he sees me. He does a double take and his smile disappears. I approach him when I realize that Peeta is still with me.

"Um, I'll talk to you later Peeta. Bye."

"Bye Katniss" Peeta waves at me and then joins his merchant friends.

"Hi Katniss"

"Hi Brandt."

"How are you?"

"I'm good. How about you, excited that you're almost done with school?"

"Of course. Then I'm off to the mines."

I know he didn't mean anything by it but any mention of the mines brings back the pain. I know Gale can sense it when he tells Brandt that we have to get going. We drop off our bags and then head to the woods. Thankfully, our hunting hasn't changed and we work together just as seamless as ever. Before long, we decide we have a good enough haul and head to the Hob. We stop at Greasy Sae's first and trade two rabbits for two bowls of stew.

"So you and Mellark, huh?" I knew this would come up eventually.

"I thought you'd bring this up. We were partners for a project in class."

"That's fine, I just didn't know you were friends."

"We're not friends, it was just a project." I shrug it off nonchalantly.

"Alright, just wondering."

"Sure you were."

We both look up at Sae who has a wide grin as she looks at Gale. I hadn't realized she was listening. Gale just looks uncomfortable and that makes me laugh.

"I was just wondering."

"Uh huh, sure." Gale just shakes his head and Sae and I continue to laugh. "Sounds more to me like you were worried someone was taking away your girl."

I immediately stop laughing. "We're just friends Sae."

"Ok, you too, whatever you say."

Gale suggests that we leave and I don't hesitate to agree. We pay Greasy Sae and are leaving the Hob.

"Oh, I think I forgot my bag at Sae's. I'll be right back."

I nod and watch Gale jog back into the Hob. Just when I think that Gale should be back by now I notice a man staring at me. He's middle aged and has the Seam look, but I've never seen him before. When he sees that I've noticed him, he starts walking towards me. I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach because it's getting dark. I'm not stupid, I know what men do to young girls who get caught alone at night.

"Hello there." He stops about five feet away from me.

"Uh, hi."

"Are you selling some game, because if you are, I'm interested."

He looks right into my eyes when he says this, and my stomach clenches. Oh, I'm sure you are interested. What a creep.

"No, sorry."

"You sure?" He starts to take a step towards me and I immediately step back, but I bump into something.

"She said no, now leave her alone."

I know it's Gale behind me without needing to turn around. I can feel his hand on my shoulder as he steps in front of me. The man just glances at Gale before returning his eyes back to me.

"Ok, I was just asking." The man walks back to his original spot and then Gale is leading me away from him. I turn back before we round the corner to see the man watching us leave.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

We walk in silence until Gale says, "What a creep."

"I know. Have you ever seen him before?"

"Never."

"That was so weird."

He nods and we keep walking. It's already dark now and the only light is from the moon. It's a nice summer evening, but all I can think about is the strange man from the Hob. Something about the way the man was watching us gave me a funny feeling. Gale insists on walking me all the way home and I don't object. After he hugs me goodbye, I head inside. Once I'm ready for bed, I look out the window one more time just to be safe.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys. I would first like say I'm sorry for such a long wait. I've been very busy with my junior of high school coming to a close. Also, I found this chapter very hard to write. I changed it multiple times, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Anyways, let me know what you think. And thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed my story so far. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games**

**Chapter 4**

I woke up this morning the same as I had fallen asleep last night: happy. Not only is today the last day of school, but tonight is the Victory festival. That boy, Noah Eldritch, he won the Hunger Games yesterday, so tonight it is customary for the home district of the victor to have a celebration in their honor. I've never been to a Victory festival before since District 12's last victor won before I was born, but my mother has. Last night, she told mainly Prim, but I was in the room, all about it. The capitol films parts of the Victory festival to show to the victor during their interview after the games, so the festival has to be capitol appropriate. Apparently the capitol sends in enough food for the entire district and the square is transformed into a grand stage where people dance. There are floating balls called balloons for the children and colorful explosions in the sky called fireworks. According to my mother it was happiest she has ever seen District 12.

She told us about the last Victory festival and how my father had asked her to accompany him; she said that a lot of people went as couples to the festival. It was the first time my mother had talked about my father with us since he died. I was surprised that she could even say his name without crying; maybe she really is trying to change. By the end of the story, Prim was as happy as I've ever seen her and that made me happy. She grabbed both my hand and my mother's hands and pulled us over to the couch.

"Oh Katniss, can we go to the festival tomorrow?"

I looked over at my mother who was smiling down at Prim. She really was trying to fix things. It may be too late for her to be a mother to me anymore, but she can still be one for Prim. Besides I want to go to the festival too, it'll be nice for all of us to go together for Prim.

"Of course, little duck."

Prim squealed with excitement and jumped into my arms, then she turned and hugged our mother. My mother wore a small smile for the rest of the night.

I woke up this morning to a giggling Prim who would not shut up about the festival. Even as we got ready for our last day of school, all she could talk about was tonight. She was happy and so was I. We dressed in our nicer clothes because the capitol will be here to film today, so for me that meant a skirt with a frilly blouse. I hate it, but nothing can dampen my mood today. Prim kisses our mother goodbye and then we are ready to leave. We open our front door to see Gale and Rory Hawthorne standing on our porch. They both wear their reaping clothes and each holds a flower in their hand.

"Ladies" They say in unison.

Gale presents his flower to Prim who giggles shyly.

"Will you accompany us to the festival tonight?" Prim nods.

Then Rory approaches me and grabs my hand. He kisses the back of it and hands me the flower.

"What do you say babe, you, me, the festival, tonight? He wiggles his eyebrows at me, so I roll my eyes at him, but he just winks in response.

"I guess so."

"Ouch" Rory puts a hand over his heart in fake pain. We all laugh at his theatrics and head towards school. Prim and Rory stay slightly ahead. I can hear Prim babbling on about what our mother told us about the festival. _Poor Rory _I think.

"So what do you think?" I turn my attention back to Gale. I had not heard a single thing he has said.

"Huh?"

"About hunting today. Do you think we should?"

"Oh, yeah we probably should. We'll have to try to finish up before the festival starts though."

"Yeah, maybe we'll just run the snare line."

I nod my head in response. We walk in silence for a while, while I twirl the flower I am still holding through my fingers. Gale notices this.

"Was it too much."

"No, it was sweet. I know it made Prim happy."

"I thought it would."

"So Rory's quite the charmer, huh?" We both start laughing at this.

"I don't know where that boy gets it from." He says shaking his head.

"I know where…from you."

"Me! How?"

"What do you mean how, he is just like you. You guys are like twins."

"Except Rory's the ugly twin." Gale says loud enough for Rory to hear.

"What! I am not ugly." Rory says but his voice cracks on the word "ugly" which makes us laugh all the way to school.

Rory and Prim head to the lower school while Gale and I walk to the upper school. It's now that I remember that this is Gale's last day of school ever which also reminds me that Gale starts in the mines in a few weeks. I can feel myself becoming upset, but I push those thoughts away because I'm determined to not let anything ruin today.

We stop at my locker so I can get all my textbooks to return before school starts.

"Need some help?" Gale says holding his arms out for the heavier books.

"I got it." I say waving him off, but I'm carrying so many books that when I lift my hand to close the door one drops out of my hand and onto the floor. I instantly bend down to pick it up and that's when I hear a whistle from behind me. It's then that I remember I'm wearing a tight skirt. I grab the book and stand back up, my cheeks bright red. _This is why I don't wear skirts_ I think to myself. I look at the two boys who whistled at me, and they are smiling and laughing at me. Gale jerks his head to look at the boys. His jaw is clenched tight, and he starts to take a step towards the boys, but I put my hand on his arm to stop him.

"Gale, don't. It's fine. It's not worth getting into trouble on your last day of school."

"It's not fine Katniss." He says through gritted teeth.

"Yes, it is. You don't want to get detention and miss the festival over some stupid boys."

Gale is silent for a second still glaring at the boys, but eventually he nods his head. He reaches over and grabs all the books out of my hands, and at this point I know better than to protest. We start walking towards my class, but not before Gale knocks into the boy's shoulder as we pass by them. When we reach my class, I go to hold my arms out for the books, but Gale holds the door open for me instead. I walk into my first class and towards my desk. A couple people stop what they're doing to look at us, but most are too excited to even notice. When we reach my desk, Gale puts my books on top of it and turns to me. He exhales loudly before he speaks.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you later then."

"I'll see you later."

He turns and walks out of my class. Now, I only have to survive for five more hours and then I'm free.

When the final school bell rings, the entire class collectively cheers. Everyone gets up and runs out of the class, down the hall, and out the front doors. People are cheering and high fiving and hugging. I feel someone tap on my shoulder and I turn around to face Gale. He picks me up and twirls me around.

"We're free." Gale says beaming at me.

"I know, finally" I say smiling back.

"Ready to hunt?"

"Yep."

"After you."

He gestures for me to go first and I start to walk with him following close behind. We reach the electric fence to find it off thankfully. Gale goes first and then holds the electric lines up for me while looking away on account of my skirt. Once inside we walk the snare line in silence and untangle our game from the wires. We caught three squirrels and a rabbit which is not horrible considering we didn't hunt, but it's ok because there will be plenty to eat tonight. After resetting the snares, we start to head back. The festival should be starting any minute because by now all the miners are off work. As we near the fence we hear people laughing and talking as they walk to the square. I have to admit that I am actually excited about tonight. I glance over at Gale right as he is glancing at me. We look at each other for a second until I scream.

"Race you."

I take off towards the fence, but Gale is ahead of me in seconds even with the game bag slung on his shoulders. I run faster until I'm right on his heels, but then he stops suddenly. It is so abrupt that I don't have time to stop, and I end up smacking my head into his shoulder. I rub my forehead and turn to him angrily, but he looks just about as angry as I am.

"What was that fo-" then I hear it. The electric hum of the fence.

I stand there with my mouth agape. How is this possible? The fence hasn't been on for weeks. Why now? I hear people laughing again and it hits me. The capitol is here and so are dozens of peacekeepers. I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. I should have known that the fence would be on, and it's probably going to be on all night. We're going to miss the festival. Great.

"What should we do?" I end up saying.

"I don't know. I guess we're stuck out here."

Gale starts to head back into the trees and I follow him. I'm not that worried about staying in the woods all night; that has happened before. I'm more just disappointed about missing the festival. I know Prim will be upset. I just hope she assumes that I'm off with Gale, so she doesn't worry and try to come find me. We have made our way into a small clearing.

"Alright, I'll make the fire, I guess." I nod at Gale.

"Okay I'll skin the meat."

I sit on a large rock and pull out my knife. Then I grab the rabbit and start to skin it. As I do this, I watch Gale gather the wood into a small pile. I can tell by how he sort of throws the wood into a pile and snaps the twigs that he is angry. He is missing the festival with his family just like I am, but at least we are stuck out here together. 

I find myself thinking back to this morning when he asked Prim and me to go with him to the festival. For the first time, I let myself consider the possibility that maybe he was meaning something more. My mother did say that couples generally went to the festival together, and when I think about how the festival probably would have gone tonight, I know that I would have been with Gale most of the night. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if the fence was not turned on. When I think about it I feel nervous and my heart starts to beat faster. I feel a sudden stab of pain and I gasp. I look down at my hand where the knife nicked it. There is a small cut running across my finger with a small drop of blood in the corner. I bring the cut to my lips and suck up the blood; then I wipe my finger on the hem of my blouse and continue skinning the rabbit.

Once the rabbit is cleaned and cooked, I cut off a huge hunk and hand the rest to Gale. We eat it quickly until our aching hunger is satisfied, for now at least. I wipe the grease off my fingers and onto my skirt while Gale puts out the fire. I would like to keep it on all night, but we don't want a peacekeeper to see the smoke and come investigate. With the no more light coming from the fire, I see how dark it truly is and it takes my eyes a couple seconds to adjust.

Suddenly, an enormous boom of an explosion is heard, louder than anything that I have ever heard before. I instantly freeze, but Gale runs at me and pulls me down to my knees, putting one arm protectively over his head and the other over mine. After a few seconds a crackling sound is heard above. We both lift our heads and see tiny streaks of blue and red light in the sky through the trees above. I look at Gale in the darkness to see him shrug at me confusedly. Then, another boom. I jump and jerk my head down, but then another crackling sound. This time, green and yellow light is in the sky. The booms and then colorful light keeps coming, at a quicker pace now. Gale and I slowly stand back up as we get used to hearing the booms. Even though I can't really see it, my eyes are glued to the colorful light in the sky. I grab Gale's arm and pull his ear down to my mouth.

"Let's go. I want to see the light!" I yell over the loud boom.

Gale nods and grabs my hand. He pulls me with him as we run through the forest. Our path lit by the light above. I slowly realize that he is taking us to our rock on the cliff. It is the perfect spot. We crash through the trees until we arrive at the rock. I look up to the sky and am mesmerized by what I see. Giant circles of colorful light cover the sky above. Hundreds of booms echo through the valley but my ears are used to them by now. My eyes are wide, staring hypnotically at this display. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and I cannot look away. All too soon, the last bit of light disappears and the sky is dark once again. I continue to stare at the empty sky, hoping that one more ball of light will appear, but it doesn't.

It is then that I realize that my face is sore from smiling for so long. Also, I am still holding Gale's hand, squeezing it actually. I try to loosen my grip, but Gale's hand stays firmly locked around mine. I look up at him to see him staring down at me. He wears a small smile as well. Our grins widen as we look at each other, and we both let out an airy laugh.

"Wow." Gale says.

All I can do is nod in return. We are silent for a while until I say, "I think those were fireworks. My mom told me about them last night."

"They were amazing."

"They were the most beautiful things I have ever seen."

Gale starts to pull my hand as he starts to walk. We reenter the forest, but I realize that we are not walking back to the clearing.

"Where are we going?"

"To the fence, let's see if it's still on."

As we approach the town, the sound of music and people get louder. Once the fence is in sight, we run. When we reach it, the electric hum is unmistakable. I exhale audibly.

"Oh well." I say. "It was worth a try."

The sound of fiddles and stomping feet can be heard. Screaming children and people laughing.

"Come on" Gale says suddenly. "Let's dance."

"Here?" I say shocked.

"Why not? Everyone else is having fun, we should too."

Gale offers me his hand, and after a few seconds of deliberation I decide what the heck and grab his hand. Gale pulls me towards him and we start to dance. We follow the rhythm of the quick paced beat. Stomping and spinning, we dance around one another, laughing when one of us missteps. Gale eventually twirls me around so many times that I get dizzy and end up tripping over my own feet and falling to the floor. Since our hands were interlocked, I pulled Gale down with me. We lay in the grass, laughing uncontrollably. I grab my stomach, sore from laughing, and try to catch my breath. Once we are calmed down, we lay in the grass staring into the star-filled sky above. There is no sound but Gale's breathing next to me.

I feel happy, happier than I've been in a long time. I'm suddenly glad that the fence was turned on today, that I got to spend this time with Gale. I know that I would not have had this good a time with anyone other than Gale. I don't know what propelled me to do what I did next, but when we both sat up, I leaned over and kissed Gale on the cheek. Neither of us said anything after it happened, and I'm glad. I like that I could do something like that without it being such a huge deal. Gale just stood up and then pulled me up with him. Then we walked hand in hand back to the clearing.

Gale propped up our hunting bags against a tree and we both lay down. I ended up with my head on Gale's shoulder and his arm wrapped around me. After a while, sleep about to overtake me, Gale turned his head and placed his lips against my temple.

"Goodnight Katniss"

I then slowly drifted off to sleep, a small smile on my lips.


End file.
